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Kagame made the remarks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as he attended the Milken East and North Africa Summit that was organized by Milken Institute, a US-based Think Tank that publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-based principles and financial innovations to social issues in the US and internationally.

In a one on one conversation with Milken Institute’s Chairperson, Michael Milken, Kagame said Africa is rich in natural resources but poor looking at its portion of global GDP.

“Africa is endowed with so much in terms of natural resources, the numbers are very clear. When you look at Africa’s portion of global GDP, it is very misleading when you also know what it is capable of,” Kagame said adding that the challenge has been how in the continent has always been how can Africa be so rich yet so poor at the same time.

To get out of this history, Kagame said Africa has to first seek ways to stop depending on outside factors starting from the level of African Union.

He gave as example the African Union institutional reforms which he was mandated to lead by his fellow African Heads of States. The reforms seek to make Africa a free trade market and see the African Union activities funded by its Member States.

“At AU level, we started by saying if we held Africa together, tried the best we can and make these borders that divide 55 countries irrelevant, beginning with trade, free movement of people and goods across borders, we can transform our economies,” he said.

Kagame said: “Leaders met in 2016 and we agreed we have to do reform because we can’t do business as usual, we have to change, beginning with how we conduct our affairs, including being able to finance the activity of the African Union.”

“AU activities were being financed at more than 80% from outside yet 55 countries can contribute to making sure we can run our own affairs,” he explained.

“We cannot work together without overcoming the challenge that we are so dependent on factors outside the continent. We have to build self-sufficiency and independence. This is what will take Africa where we should be,” he said.

“Knowledge and technology are things that are beginning to be so well evenly distributed across the world,” he said, adding: “If our young people are educated and they have their health then they are able to do what anyone else can do. You find them in different parts of the world doing exactly what is needed in Africa.”

“We need to invest in our people, even countries with natural resources, it will come to waste if they don’t invest in their people,” Kagame warned.

Kagame made the remarks on Tuesday as he addressed the 7th World Government Summit in Dubai.

The annual Summit has brought together over 4000 participants from 140 world countries including the Heads of States and Governments, International Organizations and different experts.

The Summit is dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide with a focus on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.

Kagame said the United Arab Emirates is an inspiration to many countries including Rwanda, for its example of placing high value on people and the private sector to achieve remarkable result.

“You have shown the world how vision, leadership and good stewardship of natural resources transforms scarcity into prosperity,” Kagame said.

In the 7th World Goverment Summit, Rwanda was selected as the guest country.
“In the last 25 years in Rwanda, we have worked to build a new nation based on the values of unity and opportunity for all our citizens,” Kagame said.

“We have made significant progress over the years, but there is much more to do. However, none of this would have been possible without the right foundation,” he added.

Kagame explained that civic participation and the culture where leaders and institutions exist to respond to citizens’ expectations was key in this journey.

“This was complemented by a focus on civic participation and trust ensuring that everyone is included in shaping the country’s future,”Kagame said, adding that Bringing all Rwandans together in a common enterprise also meant guaranteeing the rights of those who were previously marginalised, particularly women.

“As a result of this social contract, the government has been able to simultaneously invest heavily in our human capital and also in ambitious infrastructure and technology for our future prosperity,” he revealed.

“Although the means available do not always match the scale of our ambitions, we have done our best to get the most out of the resources we do have and find creative ways to fill the gap,” he emphasized.

Kagame explained: “Good governance and accountability is central to everything we do. In Rwanda’s case, we are working to reverse a legacy of extreme corruption and division in our society that nearly completely destroyed our country.

“If there is one lesson from Rwanda’s experience, it is optimism. If Rwanda can make it to this point it means that there are no insurmountable challenges, provided that people work together towards a common goal,”Kagame said.

Rudahunga who has been for long suffering from chronic illnesses died on Monday, Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege has told IGIHE.

Rudahunga was ordained priest in 1953, being the 111th person to be ordained priest in Rwanda.

In a yet to be published exclusive interview with IGIHE, Rudahunga who held the honorary title of Bishop said he did so many works for the Catholic Church in Rwanda including Kabgayi Minor Seminar.

At 97, Bishop Eulade Rudahunga was the oldest priest in Rwanda.

Kagame made the remarks on Monday as he attended the meeting on Digital Transformation in Africa on the second day of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the African Union.

Kagame said: “Yesterday at the opening ceremony, I mentioned that “the future of the global economy is digital”. I should have added: “and government”.

“E-government is a powerful tool for improving both the quality and accessibility of government services,” he explained.

“Digital identity is the start of a long and valuable chain of capabilities that make citizens better able to participate productively in the regional and global economy,” Kagame said.

For the digital use in delivering government services, Kagame shared the story of Irembo, the online platform where Rwandan citizens access government services online.
“In Rwanda, we have used the Irembo platform to make many public records available online, such as land titles, birth certificates, visas, driver’s licenses, national ID, and even mountain gorilla trekking permits,” Kagame said.

“But digital systems can only function well when they are trusted,” Kagame said, advising that “Information must be protected from unauthorised access. It should be clear who owns the data that people generate and how it will be used.”

“Different digital platforms must also be able to communicate with each other seamlessly. Otherwise, we are merely rebuilding the same fragmentation in the cloud that we have been working to transcend here on the ground in the African Union,” he warned.

The meeting on Digital Transformation was, among other dignitaries, attended by Kersti Kaljulaid, the President of Estonia, whose country Kagame said “is among the most advanced in terms of e-government and digitalization.”

“Estonia is a leading country in IT and in technology generally which they have used for the development of their country, and we can have a few lessons to learn from them,” Kagame said.

Kagame also revealed the Smart Africa Alliance implementing technology-based initiatives on a regional basis has now grown to 24 member states with a total market of over 600 million people.

Gasmeth Energy Limited was represented by CEO Stephen Tierney at the signing ceremony.

Gasmeth Energy plans to finance, construct and maintain a gas extraction, processing, and compression project. The project will include a gas extraction plant on Lake Kivu, where Gasmeth Energy will extract and separate methane gas from water and thereafter transport it to an onshore plant where they will compress it. The compressed natural gas will be distributed on both the local and international market.

The over USD $400 million project aims to generate employment for between 600-800 people during the construction phase. The Gasmeth Energy project will have 400 employees after construction.

The RDB Chief Executive Officer, Clare Akamanzi, noted: “Natural gas is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel. The natural gas produced by the plant will help reduce the use of wood and charcoal as a cooking fuel as well as diesel fuel in the automotive industry.

“The deep water of Lake Kivu contains dissolved methane and carbon dioxide. These gases pose a serious risk to all the oxygen-dependent life in the vicinity of the lake as they continue to build up. However, methane gas also provides an energy resource valued at billions of dollars for the Kivu region.

“We, therefore, welcome the Gasmeth Energy project because not only will it reduce the risk of a methane gas explosion, it will also provide jobs, reduce Rwanda’s natural gas import bill, increase gas exports and provide cleaner cooking fuel for Rwandans,” she said.

The move was announced yesterday, Sunday, in a meeting that brought together the students, ISPG administration and HEC aimed at resolving the issue of placing students in other universities to enable them to complete their studies.

The Ministry of Education last week announced a decision to definitively close two faculties of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences and Medicine and Surgery of the University of Gitwe.
It was thereupon decided that students who took medicine and surgery courses continue their courses in University of Rwanda and those taking the medical laboratory to join the Institut d’Enseignement Supérieur de Ruhengeri (INES, Kibogora Polytechnic and the Catholic University of Rwanda.

The HEC Executive Director Dr. Muvunyi Emmanuel announced that he has already consulted the universities where students will continue with their courses and they are ready to receive them in line with the set terms and conditions.

Some students were, however, pessimistic as to whether the form and content of instruction will rhyme with their background, arguing HEC to intercede for them so that their adopted universities concentrate on imparting knowledge of what they did not cover at Gitwe.

Dr. Muvunyi, however, said HEC cannot alter the way universities deliver content to students but in case any need for their intervention arises, they will always be available.
“We are not going to change the form and nature of instruction of any of the universities you are joining for they each have their own standards and academic norms, but where one needs help, we shall work with them to make everything work smoothly,” he said.